โSister Wivesโ returned for Season 21 on Oct. 4 without its longtime star, Kody Brown.
For 16 years, the TLC series has followed as Kody and his four wives and their children navigated life in a plural marriage.
Brown and his only remaining wife, Robyn, left the series before filming for the new season began, forcing Kody Brownโs ex-wives โ Janelle, Christine and Meri โ to react to the coupleโs exit on camera.
โI donโt know how to process it all. Iโm just going to be honest. No idea how I feel about this whole thing,โ Christine said in a confessional, adding, โ Itโs just bizarre theyโre done … I donโt know what it means. I have no idea.โ
In her own confessional, Janelle revealed she was โvery shockedโ to hear Kody and Robin would not be returning to the show.
Kody and Robinโs abrupt exit comes after years of upheaval in the family.
In 2021, Christine ended her spiritual marriage to Kody after 25 years and six children together.
Not long after, Janelle ended her union with Kody after nearly 30 years and six children.
Janelle and Kody also shared in the tragic loss of their son Garrison, who died in 2024.
Both Christine and Janelle went on to find love with new partners: In 2023, Christine tied the knot with David Woolley, and Janelle went public in August with a new boyfriend named Pete, who appears on โSister Wivesโ this season.
Kody and Robin, who was originally his fourth wife, legally married in 2014 after Kody legally divorced Meri.
Already a mom of three, Robin went on to welcome two children, Solomon and Ariella, with Kody.
With feelings bitter among Kody and his exes by the end of Season 20, Kody vowed to do a โpilgrimageโ to โapologizeโ to all three of the women.
The Season 21 premiere included footage from those apologies, which Janelle said Kody did to boost his image.
โI feel like the apology tour was, in the end, something he was trying to redeem himself with, and I donโt think it was necessarily that sincere because thereโs been no contact since,โ Janelle said in a confessional.
โHe very publicly torpedoed my character afterwards, so Iโm like, yeah, whatever,โ Janelle added, addressing Kodyโs public claim that Janelle tried to arrange deal with Kody to sell the familyโs Coyote Pass property in Flagstaff, Arizona, behind Meriโs back.
โAll of the sudden, here, months after the deal is closed, he starts talking about how I was doing this backdoor deal,โ Janelle said. โI was like, โWhere did that come from?โโ
โI was not scheming. If I had been scheming, you would not have known it,โ Janelle added.
Janelle described Kodyโs public accusation as โa final f— youโ to her.
โItโd be one thing if he just said it, but everybodyโs believing him,โ said Janelle.
During the episode, Janelle asked Meri to meet with her in person so she could clear the air about what Kody said about the property deal.
โIโm frustrated that he wants to continue to stir up the drama. I donโt want to give him that kind of power,โ Janelle told Meri.
โIt got really way more complicated than it needed to be, and I donโt know why,โ Janelle said, adding, โBut, itโs done, and I was not trying to cut you out of a deal.โ
The episode concluded by showing Janelle, Meri and Christine putting their tensions aside to reunite and sort through family photos together.
The news was confirmed in the Season 21 trailer in released in mid September, with a title card that said, โAfter 16 years of filming โSister Wives,โ Kody & Robyn will not be returning to the show.โ
TODAY.com has reached out to Kody and TLC for comment.
